View full sizeThe crown for the Fig King, hand-sewn by Annie Young of Stapleton.Courtesy of Annie and Jonathan Young

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Fig Fest this Sunday is the same time (7 p.m.) with the same program --- a fig swap, recipe exchange and general celebration of all things fig. And, it’s still free. But it will be held at a different venue: Casa Belvedere, the Italian Cultural Center, on Grymes Hill.

The foundation’s director, Gina Biancardi, is delighted to host the event, which will show off the historic, recently renovated mansion.

“We are delighted to have Fig Fest moved to Casa,” she said. “Figs are an ancient fruit associated with Italian culture. So, it makes sense that the event takes place in a venue that reveres traditions in food — like figs!”

Fig Fest began four years ago as an informal gathering of fig fans at the Sea Turtle Circle in Midland Beach in mid-September. For better or worse, the word-of-mouth event has grown and, subsequently, the “fig network” which developed from it grew geometrically.

Ms. Biancardi’s offer of Casa Belvedere as Fig Fest’s new home brings with it amenities such as bathrooms, indoor shelter in case of rai,n and a peek at Cucina Colavita, the foundation’s state-of-the-art instructional kitchen.

The event will crown a 2013 Fig King, a person chosen from the revelers with the best fig demonstration. The actual crown has been hand-sewn by Stapleton resident Annie Young.

Free cuttings will be distributed to about two dozen guests, including several Staten Island residents who lost fig trees in Hurricane Sandy.